Neighbors help woman escape house fire; home deemed a total loss

Fire was called in around 3 a.m. in 400 block of Kate Schenck Ave.

SAN ANTONIO – Some considerate neighbors helped a Southeast Side woman escape a house fire early Thursday morning, San Antonio firefighters said.

The fire was called in around 3 a.m. in 400 block of Kate Schenck Avenue, not far from Highway 281 and Southeast Military Drive.

Firefighters said they arrived to find the woman’s home on fire and flames having spread to the roof and attic of the house next door.

San Antonio Fire Department Battalion Chief Bradley Pool said their first priority was to stop the spread of the fire to the home next door and that firefighters quickly knocked down the fire.

Pool said the woman was living inside the home by herself and that neighbors called her and told her that her house was on fire.

The woman was able to escape through a back-sliding door and her neighbors helped her over a fence, Pool said.

A neighbor also went back over and retrieved her dog safely.

Pool said there was also just one person, a man living in the home next door, and that he’ll be able to go back into his home once crews deem it safe.

The woman’s home, however, is a total loss. Arson investigators will determine the exact cause of the fire.


About the Authors:

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

Sarah Acosta is a weekend Good Morning San Antonio anchor and a general assignments reporter at KSAT12. She joined the news team in April 2018 as a morning reporter for GMSA and is a native South Texan.